TTHEHE BB EANOEANO && DD ANDYANDY CC OLLECTORSOLLECTORS ’’ CC LUBLUB November 2007 Issue 4 Contents 1-2 Editorial 2 Caption Competition 3-4 ID Guides: Intro 4-5 Here Boy! 5-7 Annual ID Guide #1 8 Comic Bibles 9, 12 Letters to the Editor 10-11 The Beano Beginning 12 Dandy Facelift at 70 EDITORIAL ... Dear Collector, when the summer heat is replaced by missioned to sell the entire collection crisp mornings and falling leaves. I of the late Denis Gifford, in 2001. Welcome to issue 4, the first newslet- also look forward to the celebrations When the executors came to clear the ter of the new season with an extra surrounding Guy Fawkes. Much like collection from his terraced house in four pages… a bumper number, you the Christmas issues, Fireworks com- south east London, they found comics could say! ics usually had very bright, attractive in all manner of places - even in the A key factor to the future success of covers and with Nov 5 th having just oven - so I guess my situation wasn’t the club was to see how many of the passed, it inspired me to look at some so bad after all! (96) Founder Members decided to of the Fireworks issues in my collec- It would seem that the general inter- renew their subscription after issue 3. tion. Feast your eyes on the comic est in British comics is on the rise. I am delighted to say that 80 have covers below… irresistible! renewed as this newsletter went to Firstly, many of you will have watched Whilst on the subject of special is- print (that’s 83% to the statisticians the Comics Britannia series on BBC4 sues, I recently purchased a lovely amongst us), which bodes well for the recently. The first of three one hour collection of such issues from a club future of the club. shows focussed on The Beano and subscriber, which will be offered for The Dandy, with various key people I hope that your appetite was suitably auction on eBay shortly. being interviewed, including Euan whetted by the article on free gifts, in I took a two month break recently Kerr, Morris Heggie, Leo Baxendale issue 3, which seems to from auctioning through phil-comics, and Malcolm Phillips. have been well received. I on eBay, after selling steadily for a sent a complimentary copy Something that particularly interested year or so. The primary reason for of the newsletter me about the show was the discus- this is that I have just moved from a to a non-club sub- sions surrounding political correct- rented one bedroom flat to my first scriber who con- ness. Newsletter 2 touched upon the owned property – a two bedroom flat. centrates solely media hype surrounding the Dandy The situation in the rented accommo- on collecting Brit- Monster Comic 1939 reprint edition dation was, towards the end, getting ish comic free featuring ‘racist’ references. I was a little out of hand. Trying to cram a gifts. He has the intrigued to hear that Dan’s favourite combined stock/collection of approxi- two clickers that meal, the cow pie, had to be aban- mately 10,000 comics into a one bed- are currently eluding me doned in the early 1990s when mad room flat was getting cosy to say the and it transpires that it is cow disease was rife in the UK. least. There were comics in the living Biffo the Bear, and not Little room, in the wardrobes and under the Public opinion has changed considera- Plum, on the fourth clicker. Whoops! bed, on the landing and, on one occa- bly since the late 1930s, even the The Autumn has always appealed to sion, up the stairs! This reminded me 1950s and 1960s, when a Dennis the me. Not being one for hot weather, I of when Hamer Auctions were com- Menace strip would be incomplete am always relieved without the final - - COLLECTORS ’ C LUB I NFORMATION The Beano & Dandy Collectors’ Club Articles for publication will be gratefully PO Box 3433 received and should be sent to the PO Box Brighton address, or via email, as should any other BN50 9JA correspondence. United Kingdom Subscription costs (3 x newsletters) Tel 01273 673462 UK £9.95 (PayPal £10.60) Mob 07739 844703 Email [email protected] Europe £12.75 (PayPal £13.50) Web www.phil-comics.com Worldwide £14.50 (PayPal £15.50) The BEANO and The DANDY logos are ®© DC Thomson & Co. Ltd., 2007. All associated characters are © DC Thomson & Co. Ltd. Used By Kind Permission of DC Thomson & Co. Ltd. ... EDITORIAL panel involving Dennis’ Dad’s slipper! man (Publicist) at the ABC Comic Unsworth, Bury, BL9 8LE. Other examples include those seen on Show in London in October where Well, I hope that the wide array of the Fireworks issues; today, they were promoting the content within this newsletter will images of comic characters be- magazine. Both have keep you entertained until the next ing blown off the ground, ‘de- worked professionally with one, due to be published in Spring feathered’ and charred by fire- British comics and were 2008. May I take this opportunity to works would be frowned upon. naturally very enthusiastic wish you all the very best for the fes- Do you have any interesting or about the publication. tive season and new year! unusual vintage comics contain- Having bought the first ing images or words that would two issues (issue 3 is due Happy reading! be considered too non-PC today out in January 2008) I that you could supply to us to would recommend it for help with a future article? those subscribers who have an interest in British Phil Shrimpton Secondly, a new magazine, comics beyond The Beano and The called Crikey!, was born in June of Dandy. For more information you can this year and is marketed as ‘The visit www.crikeyuk.co.uk or write to Great British Comics Magazine’. I met Brian Clarke at 4 Hillsborough Drive, Brian Clarke (Editor) and Tom Sweet- CAPTION C OMPETITION ! My thanks go to all those who submitted suggestions for the Dennis the Menace caption competition. Jonathan Juleff, of Cornwall, seems to be on a winning streak! His caption, “Let’s paint the town red”, was chosen by the Dennis the Menace artist, David Sutherland, to scoop the prize of the 25 th birthday Beano comic. Our latest competition invites you to supply us with your funniest caption/s to the following image, the 1958 Beano Book. The subscriber supplying the winning caption, as judged by DC Thomson, will receive a 1964 Christmas Beano comic. Entries to be received by 31 st December, 2007. BRAND N EW S ALES P AGE AT P HIL -COMICS .COM At phil-comics auctions we sell please make contact as soon as possible to avoid possible the majority of our stock disappointment. through eBay, as auctions. How- Examples of key words include Beano , Dandy , comic , ever, the Sales page of our web- Eagle , Victor , Beezer , Topper , Buster , Lion , annual , site (www.phil-comics.com) also summer special etc or, if you wish to browse all the lists items for sale at set prices. items for sale at any one time, type in *. We are pleased to announce that We have added a healthy level of stock to launch the fea- we have just upgraded the Sales ture and have not advertised the page elsewhere yet, page, having installed a search which gives you, the club subscriber, priority. Please re- facility much like that found on turn to the page regularly as we intend to keep the ’shop’ eBay. well stocked. Simply visit the Sales page, type phil-comics auctions, PO Box 3433, Brighton, in the comic item that you are searching for and click BN50 9JA, UK search. With any luck, we will have items in that category 01273 673462 - [email protected] matching the title/s you seek. Items are offered on a first- www.phil-comics.com come-first-served basis, so if you see anything of interest - 2 - ID G UIDES : A N I NTRODUCTION by Phil Shrimpton This article introduces a series of fea- collectors scorned the possibility that information would then be found in a tures where we will publish full colour Wizard, Hotspur and Adventure would similar publication of another name. images of the undated DC Thomson ever be seriously collected. It was also not unusual for an annual annuals up to, and including, 1965. I But times have changed, and those to be missed one year and then reap- have no doubt that many collectors who actually bought the Magnet on pear the next, and indeed for one know all the annual covers without publication day have got fewer and annual to alternate with another, such racking their brains too much but, fewer. On the other hand, there are as ‘Beryl the Peril’ one year and nevertheless, this will form an at-a- growing generations who look back on ‘Dennis the Menace’ the next. Of glance series of identification guides. the Dandy and Beano with genuine course, those annuals that in the On page 8 of this newsletter we offer affection. main were aimed at the Scottish mar- for sale reference books devoted to ket, featuring absolute Scottish char- Today, early DC Thomson papers are DC Thomson’s ‘Stable Four’. Ray acters like ‘Oor Wullie’ and ‘The selling – in some cases – at higher Moore carried out the bulk of the re- Broons’, were never on a strict yearly prices than those from the old Amal- search for the four superb guides, schedule, possibly due to the use of gamated Press, and even issues of which were originally published be- available reprint material.